Appendix 1

Oxford and Durham Yearly Rainfall 1887-2006

The following long term mean annual rainfall graph for Oxford and Durham was produced from Meteorological Office Hadley Centre Historic Station Data. The trendlines (produced by spreadsheet program - Microsoft Excel) show an increase in average rainfall of about 3-4cm (1-1.5 inches) over the period shown, but this trend should be regarded as a tentative indicator only for these particular sites.

The large anomolies are of greater immediate importance than small variations in long term mean values, as is the distribution of rainfall throughout a particular year, since these factors can lead to disruption through drought and flooding episodes.